Game Previews

We're big fans of punching things, virtually or otherwise, so when PlayStation Move announced its fighting game, The Fight: Lights Out, our knuckles were pleasantly tickled.

...The Fight was pretty much what you'd expect: shadow-boxing, with in-game results. Jabs, roundhouses, and uppercuts are performed by mimicking those exact motions, while more complex moves like head-butts and headlocks are triggered by performing similar moves with the Move's triggers held down.

The original inFamous is probably my favorite game on the PlayStation 3, so when Andrew Pfister got his first look at inFamous 2, I had to find out more. According to Andrew, he saw a much more refined game, which makes me giddy:

In one scene, Cole runs toward the screen, narrowly avoiding rocket fire from a helicopter in pursuit and dodging the ensuing crumbling debris from destroyed city buildings. At the end of the demo, Cole catches up with Bertrand but is knocked off the limo by a helicopter skid. Thoroughly annoyed with enemy whirlybirds, he dispatches an electrically-charged tornado down the street and knocks the chopper out of the sky for good.

In the words of G4's Joe Rybicki, Vanquish is a "a seriously bad-ass-looking third-person shooter," in which the U.S.'s ancient enemies, the Russians are back, and they're taking over, baby. You gotta stop 'em.

Here's part of Joe's rave:

"This is a Platinum Games production, so it should come as no surprise that it's loaded with over-the-top set pieces and effects. One level that was being shown only behind closed doors featured Gideon and the Marines attempting to storm their way up a steep hillside while a giant, spider-like mech tore off bits of buildings and threw them down the hill. Having to dodge a flying tower while blasting away at enemies made it clear that this game comes from the same source as Bayonetta."

Warner Bros. Interactive’s upcoming Mortal Kombat is very much a return to form for the franchise. Brutal, bloody combat, elaborate and disgusting fatalities, and unending torrents of the red stuff define this brawler, which I managed to get some hands-on time with during E3 this week. Here are some brief thoughts:

"Now, the fatalities are gruesome and depraved by themselves (watching a guy get pulled into Kung Lao’s spinning razorblade hat and sawed in half, or Reptile puking acid down someone’s throat, for instance), but they are made even more disturbing by the fact that the characters have all been modeled down to the bone and include internal organs, veins and tissue."

This game is going to be big... and little: LittleBigPlanet 2 aims to provide gamers with a full-on game creation platform as well as a platforming game. Alexandra Hall got the chance to check it out at E3 2010, and she says:

"The increased versatility of the game engine will probably turn out to be the game's single largest improvement. Before launching into the live demo [Alex] Evans showed a video that demonstrated a few of the game-creation possibilities enabled by the new tools. Among others I noticed a side-scrolling space shooter, an arcade-style overhead racing game, an Arkanoid clone, a Space Invaders tribute, and a surprisingly close recreation of Puzzle Bobble. Creating much of this would have been impossible with the original game's tools. As Evans noted, 'It's not just about platforming anymore.'"

Our final verdict is still out on Mario Kart for the 3DS but if the franchise has been so successful in the past, there's no reason why it shouldn't be great on the Nintendo 3DS. Patrick Klepek previewed the game at E3 2010.

There isn’t much to say about Mario Kart on 3DS outside of the visuals receiving a substantive upgrade. The 3D wasn’t particular prevalent in the Mario Kart demo, but that’s because there just wasn’t much for the demo to show off.

Animal Crossing’s art was gorgeous on the widescreen 3DS display. As was the case with many other 3DS demos, the 3D wasn’t noticeable – and that’s not a negative. The 3D added real, tangible depth to the on-screen image, the greatest asset of 3D.

Review

Cheats and Walkthroughs

Review

Cheats and Walkthroughs

Wait, if it's called "FINAL" Fantasy, why are there 14 of them? The world may never know the answer to this questions, but we will know whether Final Fantasy 14 is an awesome game when it comes out, supposedly in 2010. I got the chance to check this one out at E3, and here's what I thought:

"The E3 2010 demo I played didn't reveal all that much about the game. It was was pretty short, but featured a tour through the character creation system where I chose one of four different races (there will likely be more by release time) and one of four different classes: warrior, magic, land (farming), and hand (crafting). Each broad class will offer a number of sub-jobs, allowing you to, say, choose "hand" and become a Blacksmith. Or choose "warrior" and be a Marauder or Pugilist. The characters have that familiar Final Fantasy sheen, all with perfectly aquiline features and perfectly arranged hairdos. All will be highly customizable both from the start and in terms of in-game gear."

The beloved Paper Mario series is making a return and the Nintendo 3DS is its first stop. Patrick Klepek got a first hands-on look at E3 2010.

The combat looked like the traditional back-and-forth the Paper Mario series is known for, but 3D was the star here. The papercraft look didn’t exactly come out of the screen, but the contrast between the traditional cartoonish 3D Mario environments and the papercraft objects worked very well.

Review

We just can't get enough of the Trojan War! Joe Rybicki checked out Warriors: Legends of Troy at E3 2010 for those familiar with the Dynasty Warrior series.

Though the game will prove very familiar to fans of the Dynasty Warriors games, there are definitely some differences. For one thing,Legends of Troy is significantly more brutal -- significantly. Hacking through enemies throws generous splatters of blood around, and the player-controlled character (generally taken from Greek history or mythology) can finish off enemies with brutal impalements.

The classic PC game is making a return tot he 21st century! Patrick Klepek checked out XCOM at E3 2010, and while there's a lot in the game that's still in work, fans won't be disappointed.

2K Marin stressed the balance between fear and strategy as a central tenant of the new XCOM experience. You're supposed to be scared of the aliens in XCOM, as the game picks up when the XCOM division is formed and beginning to grasp the alien threat. Engaging players on that level would be much more difficult with a top-down, turn-based game. The game's iconic 1950s setting is perfect.

Kirby's back and he's made out of yarn! Patrick Klepek got the chance to play this new game, Kirby's Epic Yarn, for the Wii and I'm surprised he didn't physically melt from all the cuteness.

In short, Kirby's Epic Yarn shows great promise. I couldn't help but smile when the game's tutorial explained that I'd have to turn the Wii controller on its side and only concern myself with the 1 and 2 buttons -- no motion control here.